Flotsam & Jetsam

Larry’s Crack, Redux: In our review last month of Lembah, we surmised that the dive site “Larry’s Crack” was named after guide Larry Smith. “Not so,” said Larry Jackson of San Angelo, Texas “I’m the Larry that Larry’s Crack is named for. Scott Michael, Janine Michael, Roger Steene, David Salmanowitz and I were diving Lembeh Strait in October 2000 and found this spot enjoyable enough to return to many times. It was called Retak Larry because Valerie (of the Kevin and Valerie management team) couldn’t handle the name “Larry’s Crack”, so she softened it with the Indonesian word for crack. I just got back and nearly as many folks call the site “Larry’s Crack” as called it “Retak Larry”. All the dive guides seemed to know that the site was named after me and pointed it out to folks at the dive briefings.” Jackson also related the incident that spawned the name and I can assure you, fellow readers, that Jackson has earned an honorary membership in the plumber’s union.

Cayman Stats; Enron used 441 Cayman affiliates to help hide $2.9 billion in losses. In 2001, almost half the money U.S. companies earned outside the U.S. was accounted for in offshore tax havens such as the Cayman Islands. These companies didn’t have to pay the 35 percent U.S. corporate income tax.

Drinking the Night Before: English researchers reviewed information from 60 multi-day divers treated for bends in the Orkney chamber in Scotland to determine whether boozing the previous night was associated with their hits. They compared the data with 225 divers who also drank but had no problems. They discovered no correlation between drinking the previous night and a bends hit the next day. They acknowledged, “Selfreported estimation of alcohol intake is of limited reliability and intake is generally under-estimated. ... Despite this, a significant proportion of recreational divers visiting Orkney drink a substantial volume of alcohol the night before diving. (Trevett A.J, et. al. UHM 2003, Vol. 30, No. 3; Abstracts from UHMS annual Scientific Meeting, Quebec City, 2003).

Fun Scuba Watches? Swatch has created seven colorful $80 “Fun Scuba” watches that also register depth down to 40 meters and the duration of the dive. And while the watch is water resistant to 200 meters, the website says, “This is not a scuba-diving watch.” Go figure. www.swatch.com

Orca Computers: Many long time divers cling to their original computers, the Phoenix, the Marathon, the Pilot and the old brick doorstop, the EDGE, which became the first legitimate dive computer in 1986. Well, guys and gals, you can still get ‘em repaired. For the Edge, go to www.edgerepair.com and for the others go to www.Orcadivecomputer.com. (Thanks to EZ Ed Donohue for the tip).

San Pedro Bridge: Looks like Ambergris Caye in Belize will get a 120-foot bridge to link San Pedro with the resorts to the north. Locals who want to expand the city and gain economic ground favor it, while the mostly foreign hotels oppose it, saying the bridge will yield increased traffic and crime, which is nearly nonexistent on the north side. The nine-foot-high bridge will be wide enough for full-sized vehicles, leaving opponents fearful of future road improvements and traffic jams.